Richell Vaughn had been practicing yoga for about six years before deciding to pursue her teaching certificate for the mindfulness practice in December 2017.
Less than five year later, Vaughn has launched her own yoga practice to help clients find “mindfulness.”
Vaughn’s practice, Enlightened Yoga and Wellness, conducts classes at the historic Prairie Guest House in Fishers. She collaborated with Prairie Guest House owners John and Karen Newton to revive the space and open the studio, which offers a variety of classes.
“When I (pursued the teaching certificate), there was just so much to share I wasn’t even aware of,” said Vaughn, a Noblesville resident. “I didn’t go much past poses and things, so once I started doing teacher training, it blew my mind, and I knew there was a lot more to share.”
When she earned her teaching certificate, she began teaching at Noblesville Athletic Club before working at Body Mind Core in Carmel. She then taught at Honor Yoga Fishers.
“I had formed a little tribe (of clients) and did my best to keep them together,” Vaughn said. “(During the pandemic), we moved to my backyard and then to Morse Reservoir and practiced outside as long as we could.”
Vaughn then rented space at a dance studio before relocating to the Prairie Guest House.
Vaughn said one of the pleasures of being a yoga instructor is watching students “grow beyond the pose.”
“Every pose represents something happening in the body, energy moving through the body and learning how our body feels and trying to find that mind-body connection,” Vaughn said. “I’m trying to get people to slow down long enough (so) they can hear what’s happening in their body.
“If I can teach students to listen to their body to learn to breathe and listen to their breath, they can calm down and we can attack high blood pressure and diseases.”
For more, visit enlightenedyogaandwellness.com.
